Pocket doors are doors, most commonly used in residential construction, which slide on a track into a pocket within a wall. When open, the door is within the wall pocket. Closing the door is performed by sliding the door out of the pocket in the wall across a doorway opening. The most common construction of pocket doors uses a track fastened at the top of the door opening. An assembly with rollers rides in the track and the door is suspended from this roller assembly. The track across the top of the door opening extends into the wall pocket. In operation, the door suspended from the roller assembly is free to move in and out of the pocket, to close and open the door.
When the door is fully open, that is in the wall pocket, the edge of the door should be flush with the pocket opening the full height of the door, top to bottom. Likewise, when the door is closed, that is the door is suspended from the track in the doorway, the edge of the door should neatly fit against the door jamb, top to bottom. These two conditions, having the edge of the door flush with the pocket opening when the door is open, and having the edge of the door neatly fit against the jamb when the door is closed, must be met for a neat installation. Means of adjustment are provided where the door is suspended from the rollers to facilitate meeting these two conditions.
However, frequently in installation, it is not possible to meet these two conditions by means of adjusting the suspension of the door from the rollers. In other words, if the suspension of the door is adjusted so that the edge of the door is flush with the pocket, the door may not be in proper adjustment when the door is closed. There are a number of factors that can lead to the this problem. For example, if the track is not straight, that is, if the track sags in the middle, the edge of the door will not remain exactly vertical throughout its travel as the door is closed. Another problem results when the two sides of the door opening, i.e. the pocket and the jamb are not parallel.
Pocket doors are difficult to install in a manner which does not lead to the problems discussed above. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that a framing crew usually installs the track and a separate finish or trim crew installs the door. Framing crews are typically not accustom to the precision work required in installing the track and frequently not held accountable for the difficulty presented to the trim crew. Heretofore, in practice, the only way to correct these problems has been to remove and reinstall the door jamb and trim.